Mt. Pisgah to no longer accept cash

EUGENE, Ore. -- Beginning February 14 the kiosk where visitors to Mt. Pisgah purchase their day passes will accept only debit or credit cards – no cash, Lane County officials said.

“Our hope is that this will reduce the risk of theft and the cost to maintain an aging machine, as well as be more convenient for park visitors,” said Lane County Parks Supervising Analyst Charles Conrad. “Mt. Pisgah is our most-visited park and we see an increasing number of visitors as the days get longer and warmer – and our goal is to make it easier and more convenient.”

The new kiosk is part of a three-month pilot project to determine whether the technology should be expanded to other Lane County parks. If successful, Richardson Park could move to a card-only kiosk next year.

“The challenge in most of our parks is their rural location,” said Conrad. “This technology depends upon the connectivity available to the kiosk.”

In order to help ease visitors into the change, the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum office will sell day passes for cash during its regular business hours for the second half of February, officials said.